ORLANDO — With just 14 seconds left in regulation, a game the UCF men’s basketball team (15-11 overall, 6-11 in Big 12) led for over 35 minutes came down to just three points after Kansas State (13-15, 7-10) clawed its way back in the second half. Despite the foe’s late surge, the UCF men’s basketball team outlasted the Wildcats, 80-76, in a total team effort, spearheaded by Moustapha Thiam’s first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and just missed the school’s first triple-double as he also added eight blocked shots.
“I feel amazing,” said Thiam. “I was with Coach Dawkins earlier this week, and he was just making a joke like, man, you never get a double-double…. I'm like, I will do it. Today when I got it, I looked at him like ‘I told you, I told you’.”
The Knights got off to as fast start as Keyshawn Hall knocked down a three and Tyler Hendricks, making his first start of his collegiate career, swooped through the lane for an offensive rebound and a tip-in layup putting UCF up 5-0 and the Black and Gold built as much as a nine-point cushion, 21-12.
But Kansas State’s scrappy offense worked to chip away at the score, and went on a 20-7 run, including a 10-0 burst over 3-minutes, to take the lead, 32-28, with 4:54 left in the half. However, a jumper from Thiam set the Knights back on track and the Knights would scored the final 10 points of the half to cap a 13-2 run and take a lead of 41-34 at the half.
UCF kept the pressure on to open the second half, using a 6-2 start to take a 47-36 lead with 17:16 to play.
And while the Wildcats were able to cut into the lead, including a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 69-65 with 4:31 left, they could never regain the lead and the Knights were able to convert on six consecutive free throw attempts in the final 36-seconds to keep the visitors at bay.
Hall and Darius Johnson combined to make up 49 of UCF’s total points on the night. The contest marked Hall's 14th game where he recorded 20-plus points and his 12th consecutive game scoring double-digits, tallying 26 points. As for Johnson, he knocked down four three-pointers and put up 23 points, his eighth 20-plus point game on the campaign and sixth time burying at least four triples.
The eight blocks by Thiam tied the program record for most blocks in a single game, joining Tony Davis (Dec. 1, 2007 at South Florida), Keith Clanton (Dec. 4, 2010 vs. SE Louisiana) and Tom Herzong (Dec. 11, 2010 vs. Bethune-Cooman). Thiam now has 67 rejections, passing Taylor Hendricks (59) for the second most blocks as a UCF freshman, and within three of rookie record holder Tacko Fall, who recorded 70 blocks in 2015-16. Fall holds a significant edge for single-season blocks in UCF history, boasting 94 in 2016-17.
Up Next:
The Knights are in Fort Worth today (Saturday) to face TCU in Schollmaier Arena at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as on radio by FM 96.9 The Game.
Here is the box score:
UCF 80, Kansas State 76
Kansas State (13-15, 7-10)
Max Jones 6-17 7-8 22, Brendan Hausen 4-10 1-1 11, Dug McDaniel 4-14 2-2 10, David N’Guessan 4-8 0-2 8, Ugonna Onyenso 2-3 0-0 4, CJ Jones 4-6 2-3 12, Macaleab Rich 2-3 0-0 4, Mobi Ikegwuruka 1-1 1-3 3, David Castillo 0-3 2-2 2. Totals _ 27-65 15-21 76.
UCF (15-13, 6-11)
Keyshawn Hall 7-12 10-12 26, Darius Johnson 8-16 3-4 23, Moustapha Thiam 4-9 2-2 11, Tyler Hendricks 2-4 0-0 4, Mikey Williams 1-7 2-4 4, Benny Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Dior Johnson 2-2 1-1 5, Dallan "Deebo" Coleman 0-2 1-2 1, Jordan Ivy-Curry 0-3 0-0 0, Nils Machowski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 27-60 19-25 80.
Halftime _ UCF 41, Kansas State 34. 3-point field goals _ Kansas State 7-22 (M. Jones 3-7, Hausen 2-6, C. Jones 2-3, McDaniel 0-4, Castillo 0-2); UCF 7-29 (Da. Johnson 4-10, Hall 2-5, Thiam 1-5, M. Williams 0-3, Hendricks 0-2, Coleman 0-2, Ivy-Curry 0-2). Team fouls _ Kansas State 20; UCF 23. Fouled out _ UCF (Hendricks). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ Kansas State 35 (M. Jones, N’Guessan, Onyenso, Rich, Ikegwuruk 4 each); UCF 41 (Thiam 10, M. Williams 7, Hall 5). Turnovers _ Kansas State 13; UCF 15. Assists _ Kansas State 14 (McDaniel 9, N’Guessan 2); UCF 14 (Da. Johnson 4, Hall 3, M. Williams 2, B. Williams 2). Steals _ Kansas State 6 (M. Jones 2); UCF 8 (Hendricks 3, M. Williams 2 each). Blocked shots _ Kansas State 3 (Onyenso 3); UCF 8 (Thiam 8).
